Monday, August 24, 2009

Blue Monday - Sponges

It's Blue Monday! To participate:

1. Post about something blue on your blog. It can be pretty, ugly, funny, old, or new as long as it's blue. Leave a link to this blog on your post.

2. Place the Blue Monday button on the top of your post so that people can easily spot it. Place another Blue Monday button on the sidebar of your blog.

3. Mr. Linky will be up after midnight. Return here and link in with Mr. Linky by leaving your name and the Permalink to your post. To create a Permalink, click on your Blue Monday post title and copy all the stuff in the http window. It is a longer address so that people can find your post even later in the week--whenever they get a chance to visit.

4. Leave me a comment. Visit other Blue participants by clicking on their links. Make someone's day; leave a comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


We took a day trip to Tarpon Springs and investigated the sponge-diving industry. Here's one of the boats that goes out to gather the sponges. Look at that blue sky and blue water! Notice that blue is on most boats and buildings as this place was settled by Greek immigrants, and you know that the colors of the Greek flag are blue and white. If you'd like to learn more about the history, click here.



Notice the pile of sponges on the dock in front of this boat.




Look at this huge pile of sponges!




Here's an interesting bit of information about sponge industry, or sponge gathering. I know that it's continued on the back, but I only photographed one side. I didn't think anyone would want to read more than that!





This statue of a Greek sponge diver stands outside a restaurant. Notice that in his left hand is a net with sponges inside.




Of course, I had to buy a sponge. I like the way it looks in the bathroom. There are many sizes and prices. This one cost $6.99. I doubt if it was a bargain. It was impulse shopping! Here it is on the edge of my tub.




Check out the book giveaway in my sidebar!


Blue Monday Participants
1. ellen b
2. kathy b
3. Charlotte
4. Christine
5. Sandi
6. bj
7. Fifi Flowers
8. Iris
9. Sarah @ Hyacinths For The Soul
10. Jensmere
11. Anne Fannie
12. LaVoice
13. Mary@One Perfect Bite
14. Tootsie
15. Brittany D.
16. Judith
17. Mar
18. barbara jean
19. sylvia extra from villa extra
20. Singapore plants lover
21. Gemma
22. Ninnu, Finland
23. charmine
24. Becky K.
25. Jeanne
26. Barbara, The Purple Goat Lady
27. Laura@White Spray Paint
28. Cindy @ Applestone
29. Maria Berg, Sweden
30. Becky
31. Joan @ Applejack Lane
32. cindy
33. Trish@TheOldPostRoad
34. Elizabeth
35. Julie @ Working on a Dream
36. Darnold23@diningwithdebbie
37. Ms. Sharlotte's...Southern Reflections
38. Knitty
39. Lynn @ Alive!
40. ButterYum
41. Christi at A SOUTHERN LIFE
42. Carrie at Being Domestic
43. Monica
44. DeniseMarie
45. Gee
46. Cass @ That Old House
47. Candy
48. AnnA
49. Melissa G
50. Ruby
51. storyteller at Sacred Ruminations
52. Cozy Kitchen by the Sea has the blues !
53. charli and me
54. Pagan Sphinx - MassachusettsUSA
55. Linnea
56. Claudie@BUBBLIN'OVER
57. Boogieboard Cottage
58. ~CC Catherine
59. angie @ annies home
60. Maria's Space
61. A.Marie
62. Paisley & Pretties
63. Terry
64. Kitty_Valerie
65. boliyou
66. Cindy at Collector at Heart

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.



67 comments:

ellen b said...

Oh you got some beautiful blues this week Sally. You also got some great interesting shots of those sponges!! Fascinating...
Blessings on your week!

Charlotte said...

I've always been fascinated by sponges. I'll bet this was an interesting experience. I enjoyed seeing the pictures. I know I would have bought a sponge too.
Have a great Blue Monday.
Charlotte

xinex said...

Hi Sally! I have gone there so many times but I never bought a sponge. They have a big event there on Jan. 6 where guys dive into the water for the cross. You are making me miss the Tampa Bay area...Christine

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Pretty cool post Sally, and your blues are beautiful! I would have gotten a sponge too. I'm happy to be taking part in Blue Monday today; no loss of power!

Blessings,
Sandi

bj said...

O, my...what great blues you have for us this time, Sweet Smiling Sally..those sponges...delightful.
Happy Blues...
xo bj

Fifi Flowers said...

BEAUTIFUL place! Happy Blue Monday! Fifi

Boo-Bah AKA Iris said...

I love those blue skies. Sponges are so interesting. I would have bought one too.
Iris

Sarah said...

Sally, this is a fascinating post. Thank you for sharing. The blue sky with the contrasting white puffy clouds is beautiful!

Happy Blue Monday! Thanks for hosting this fun day each week.

Sarah @ Hyacinths For The Soul

Jennsmere said...

Thanks,Sally for such an interesting post! I have always love natural sponges, and enjoy using them in my artwork.

Sounds as though you had a really nice day...the photos are very nice!

Bless you,
Susan

Barbara H. said...

Beautiful blue sky and water! Interesting about the sponges.

Mary Bergfeld said...

I love to learn new things so I was delighted with your post today. You found lots of blue and that sky is almost as pretty as the one we have in Oregon :-). I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Tootsie said...

great post girl....I linked in for the first time ever!!! I am excited!
now..I am very interested in those sponges...I loved seeing the photos you got!

Slee said...

Loving the frankness with which you point out that no one has the patience to read more than one side! Happy blue monday.

Anne Fannie said...

Hi Ms Sally, I love your post with all the blue and the information about the sponges. I never really thought before where sponges come from. LOL Very interesting!
Happy Blue Monday,
~Ann

Anonymous said...

what a fantastic and interesting day out made even more enjoyable because of the blue sky. take care, Judith

Gemma Wiseman said...

I have never seen sponges pilecd up like that! A very interesting, informative post!

Ninnu said...

Those sponges are really interesting.

Becky K. said...

Very pretty.

I had a sea sponge once...I bought it to do a faux finish on a bedroom wall. The designs that came from that sponge were unique.

Sorry you couldn't enjoy the video yesterday...the point of it was that it is one thing to have all of the knowledge in the world about something (donuts/salvation) but without an encounter with the subject it means very little.

It made me grateful to know my Lord and Savior in a personal way...not a head knowledge way.

Have a great Monday!

Becky K.

jeanne said...

Good morning Sally, I messed up and my name that is on there twice is partially incorrect. The first one is not right. LOL. I inadvertently hit enter before I erased the html for yesterday. Leave it to me, but I have been pretty good with Mr. Linky for quite a while.

I have been to Tarpon Springs a few times over the years and it never failed to be be a fun trip. Nice post and I like the sponge you bought.

Have a happy day today.

Hugs...Jeanne

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Good Morning Sally,
I really enjoyed reading this post~ I love history and local culture and this is so interesting too. The pics of the sponges piled up is amazing! Thanks for being our hostess and have a wonderful day! Hugs, Cindy

Cindy said...

How fun! I would love to see that in person. Makes me think of Spongebob Square Pants. Beautiful blues.
Cindy

Unknown said...

Happy Monday, Sally! I have several Greek relatives who are in the Tarpon Springs sponge industry!

Knitty said...

Very interesting and timely for me. Friends just moved to Tarpon Springs and I didn't know this bit of history.

Happy Blue Monday!

Lynn said...

It's so easy to take for granted where items we use come from, with little thought for the process by which they arrived in our hands. Thanks for sharing a bit on the sponge industry. The photo of the pile of sponges is quite an intrigue.

Melissa G said...

Oh i loved our visit to Tarpon Springs!
I'm off to look through my pictures for some BLUE now! =)

Unknown said...

Very fun pictures. That is a big sponge-- cool!

ClassyChassy said...

Thanks for hosting - great blues, love the pictures!

Denise Marie said...

Sally, great post. I'm so glad you shared all of this interesting stuff. xox! Late last night Blue mon had no hook up yet and I log in and am like the 42nd entry this am. ;D

Gee said...

Hi Sally.

You got something I have seen before. Great posting and thanks for sharing. Happy blue monday.

Cass @ That Old House said...

Beautiful blues! There is no blue better than Mother Nature's. Thanks!

As for the sponges, the only "real" sponges I've bought are from Michael's and used for decorative painting! How interesting to see such a PILE of them!

Cass

Candy said...

What a cool trip by the sea soaking up the sites ;-)

Barbara Jean said...

Thanks for taking time to visit.

Cute about titling the poem
"a bit of blue" and framing it. =0)

Blessings on your Blue Monday, and the rest of the week too.

Barbara Jean

AnnA said...

Hello Sally!
Now I have delivered some blues for you...(and for other bloggers/blogreaders too)
These kinds of spongs you are writing about, you can also use to paint with, both on walls(for example decoratingpaintings) and watercolurpainting.
Have a nice week!/
AnnA

Melissa G said...

This is my first week joining in with Blue Monday. It was fun!

I'm having a giveaway on my blog this week.

Tomorrow's the last day to enter if you want to join in! I hope you will! =)

Needled Mom said...

Very interesting. It must have been an interesting visit. You forget the blue stripes for the handicap walkway!!!

JLS Hall (Joysweb) said...

Wow, those sponges are incredible! They look like space aliens massing to take over the planet. Great shots.

I don't have anything blue for today - just some ancient wedding photos. Although I was wearing a blue garter!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

What an interesting trip. I didn't know anything about the sponge industry. Love the tour. Hugs, Marty

storyteller at Sacred Ruminations said...

Fascinating experience! Thanks for sharing this info with us along with your beautiful blues.
Hugs and blessings,

Queen B. said...

Hi Smiling Sally !
As usual, beautiful pictures !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love Blue Monday :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, Most Smiling One! Love all your blues today! Those sponges are amazing. I remember when I was looking for just a tiny piece to do a project and couldn't find one and your found a whole slew of 'em!
Be a sweetie,
shelia ;)

Salmagundi said...

You always come up with the most interesting info - always a treat. Sally

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Sally, This was such an interesting post. I enjoyed re4ading about the history of the area. The pictures are wonderful. I like sponges too and have several of them in my bathroom. What a fantastic place to visit. Happy Blue Monday!

Unknown said...

Lovely pictures, Sally. What a pretty place to visit and such good weather!

Neabear said...

Looks like it was a gorgeous day for an outing! Interesting to learn about the sponges. Thanks for sharing. I would not know about this place if you had not told us about it.

Happy Blue Monday!

claudie said...

WOW that's a lot of sponges Sally.
We have the Discovery Channel DVD's. on Sponges. Actually Amazing!!
Did you realize that genetically we all evolved from Sponges. True enough!
Happy Blue Monday Sally, thanks for hosting once again.
Love Claudie
oxox

Killlashandra said...

Neat tidbit about sponges!

As for parenting and screaming kids, I just tell myself some day they will grow out of it. Or really some year. ;)

Thanks for stopping by.

annies home said...

love this post very interesting as well as educational

Mary @Boogieboard Cottage said...

Wow, that's a lot o' sponges!

squawmama said...

Sally you know it is a requirement to get a sponge when visiting the sponge docks. ☺☺☺ I am surprised that you didn't pick up some of the olive oil products too!! The soap is great! Next time you go try it... Great Pictures! Have fun my friend!

(((HUGS)))
Donna

April said...

Such a beautiful place to visit! Love your sponge...does it work well?

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Oh yes, of course you had to get a sponge!

:)

A.Marie said...

First I want to say sorry about the mistake I made with the link. It is so interesting to see those sponges link that. This was a very interesting post.

Diers Eve said...

Wow! Nice trip! Congrats!

I enjoy Blue Mondays so much specially at Charmine's blog.

Have a very Happy Blue Monday!!!

Warm regards from South America,
val

Regina said...

HI Sally nice post. Great shot of the sponges.
I will participate next time.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Tarpon Springs is an interesting place, isn't it Sally???? Glad you got a sponge --even if you paid full price... (At least you will know that it is a 'real' sponge from Tarpon Springs.

About the cost for my bird food, I really don't spend as much as you might think. I bring my food inside at nights to keep the night critters out of it. AND--I keep the squirrels and chipmunks out of my feeders (as much as possible). It's actually more work than it is money.

I did spend MORE when the Pine Siskins stopped here in the spring. There were 100's of them... GADS!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

Terry said...

Howdy Sally
What a great post.
Thank you for being our hostess today.
I just love to come by and visit .
You always share so much fun and fabulous photos of intresting places.
I really enjoyed all the great informaiton you shared today.
This was a great place to visit .
Happy Blue Monday .
Blessings to you .
Happy Trails

Diers Eve said...

Thanks for your comment!
I already linked my post to Blue Monday
:D
Happy Blue Monday!!!

Diers Eve said...

Yay! I finally found Mr. Linky's box! :P
Thanks for your visits!
Warmest regards from Chile,
Val

Drawn to The Sea said...

Hi Sally... I didn't participate this week, but came to look around. Those sponges are amazing!

Pleasant day,
~Julia

Diane of Crafty Passions said...

Interesting post I enjoyed reading about the sponges... who knew....
Diane

Sharlotte said...

That was a really neat post! I had never really thought about visiting a sponge~diving~industry, but I think I'll put that on my places to visit!
Thanks for the party and sharing.

LV said...

Sally, one thing for sure the tours we shared today were miles apart. I enjoyed your tour of the sponge factory. I have never done that so I enjoyed hearing about them. Always happy when you drop by and leave a comment.

Unknown said...

Very interesting post Sally!

Unknown said...

A bit of the shore at home is welcome! Great shots.

Susan B said...

A very interesting post! Thanks for sharing it.

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

That was so interesting. I can't believe that pile of sponges. I thought you were going to say that you dived for your sponge. It does look luxurious on the side of the tub. laurie

Shirl said...

Hello Sally, Beautiful Blue Monday post. I just love a boat dock! My favorite way to spend the day! I love to watch the boats come and go. I had a busy weekend with company and was not able to get a post ready this week. I'm gonna try for next week, I've still got alot of blue to show!
Bless you, Shirl
Shirls Rose Cottage